Rail-joint.



P. MAJORANA.

RAILJOINT.

, I APPLICATION FILED MAY 15, 918- I 1,293,496, Patented Feb. 4, 1919.

15 l 97?? f I 1a 4 'rErPmo MAJORANA, on LUUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

RAIL-1T OINT.

Specification ofitte'rs Patent.

Patented Feb; 4, 1919.

Application Med May 16, 1-9-18. Seria1-No-.-234;964.

. To all whom it mayconcern:

Be it known thatI, PnrPrNo MAJORANA, a

subject of the King of \Italy, residingat Louisville, inthe county of Jeiferson and State of Kentucky, have inventednew and useful Improvements in "Rail-Joints, -'0f which: the following is a specification.

This invention relates to rail joints, and

one object ofthe-inventionis"to provide a novel nonstruction A of lap-ping rail ends whereby a-continuous and unbroken rail connection will be afforded at the joint, to make I the-rails sol-id at the oint and to keep the I rail ends'inalinement with each other.

i Afurther object of the invention isto prov vide a joint inwhichthe rail ends are so formed and connected= as to enable the-use of fish plates to be dispensed With,- while permitting proper expansion and contraction; :andwherein provision is also made to prevent depression or spreading of the rail 1 ends and the hanunering,-due to Wear and tear,in the passage of-Wheels over the joint,

in the use of rails of-ordinaryconstruction.

With these" and other objects in view,-the invention consists of the features I of 'construction, combination and arrangements of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference'being had to the-accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of two connectedrailsshowi-ng a construction ofjoint embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 1s a vertical longitudinal section of the same.

Fig. 3 is a verticaltran'sverse section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4: is a View in end elevation of one of the rail ends.

Fig. 5 is aiperspect'ive View of the'same.

Fig. 6 is a perspective'vi'ew of the other rail end.

- Referring to the drawing, 1: and 2 designate adjoining -rai1s,-the' endswhereof are constructed to provide the improved joint, each rail in general being of ordinary construction' and comprising abase3, head 4 and'connecting web 5.

The rail member 1 has its base 3 cut away for a determined distance'inwardly from its end, and adjacent to the end-of its base has its Web 5 provided with alaterallyexpanded orthickened portion 6, from which projects awtongue 7 i The tongue is of less width than the portion 6 but of greater width than tion 6, whereby side and bottom shoulders or abutment portions 8 and 9 are formed at the outer extremity of said expanded portion. lhe base of the expanded portion 6 projects in advance of the end 10 of the base 3in the formtof a transverse ledge'll, for a 1 purpose hereinafter I described. Formed uponthe underside ofthetongue 7 is a series of V-shaped or tapered-lugs 12, and formed in thetongue 7 adjacent tothe ends thereof are transverse bolt holes 13.

Therail member 2 has its head l'shortened or'cut away inwardlyfor a distance from its end substantiallyequivalent to the length of the tongue 7, and this rail member has its web 5 expanded laterally, as shown at 14. The expanded portion 14 is of a width approximatelyequal to orslightly less than the width of the hea d-4: and is integral with the base 3 of said-raiLmemb'er. The-outer end of-theexpanded portion 14: projects beyond the shortened head a distance-equal to the -1engtl1-ofthe-tongue 7 and is bifurcated to .providea pair'of spaced plates 15 forming an "intervening groove '16, to receive "the tongue 7 whenthe rail members are properly joined together. The-upper edges of the plates 15-terminate inline with the bot- "tom 'ofthe head 4 and the groove 16 is'made 0f less depththan the depth of the web 5 so P as to increase-the thickness of the base 3 beyond the head of'the rail.

When the rail ends are united, the tongue 7-fits-s'nugly in the groove 16 with the ends 'oftheheads l abutting and the outer end of t-hetong-ue bearing against the expanded end of'the web 5 of the rail member 2, the base of-the tongue resting upon the-thickened bottom of-the groove 16 whereby'abu-tment sur-- faces of increased size are afforded to increase the strength of the rail ends at the joint. When so connected the rail ends will also be firmly supported against depression and lateral movement, since the upper edges of the plates 15 will bear againsttheoverhanging flanges of the head 4 of the rail.

member 1, and the thickened 'webs will strengthen and reinforce the rail ends 1n;

wardly of and on opposite sides of and beyond the joint, the plates 15 serving the function of fish plates and thus doing away with the necessity of employing separate fish 5 plates, whereby a solid joint is produced of independent parts, thereby increasing the:

' "in thepassage of the wheels of rolling stock which is absolutely rigid and avoids the use stability of the joint and affording security over the rails.

' tions'12 on the tongue, whereby the rail ends "areconnected against longitudinal displacement, and the plates 15 are formed with The thickened bottom wall 17 of the groove 16 is formed with tapered sockets,

or recesses 18 to receive the lugs or pro ecbolt holes 19 to register with the bolt holes 13 in the tongue, said bolt holes be ingf'a dapted for the passage of bolts 20,

' "\vher eby the nail ends are retained in p osi-"" In practice, owing to the great strength of p the joint, it will'ordinarily not be found I iecessary to employ more than two bolts, since no strain falls upon these 'faste'nings,

tion against upward vertical displacement.

so that weakening of the parts by the use of a greater number of bolt holes will be avoided.

I The base 17 of the rail member 2 projects beyond the outer ends ofthe' plates 15 in the form of a projecting ledge 21 having a beveled or inclined surface 22,'which ledge l is adapted to extend under the portion 11 of the rail member 1 and with the surface 22 abutting against the inclined surface 10 of said rail member 1, thus additionally sup: porting the ends of the rails to give increased strength in the region of the joint.

The surfaces 8 and 9 of the rail member 1 are adapted to abut against the outer end edges 23 of the plates 15, the COIll ELCtl11g' sur' faces being preferably beveled or obliquely disposed to lie at an angle to the vertical and thus additionally support the rail ends against any possibility of depression.

It will be evident from the foregoing de scription that the invention provides a joint formed solely by portions of the rail ends,-

scribed joint members of maximum Width and thickness are produced to brace the rail ends and sustain the weight and pressure of .l thewheels of the rolling stock, thus making the joint absolutely solid and rigid against displacement and avoiding hammering and other stresses and noises due to wear and tear and play of the rail ends under the pres sure of the rolling stock in the use of joints and rails of ordinary construction.

It will, of course,'be understood that the bolt holes and interengaging surfaces may be so "formed "as to permit sufficient relative movement of the rail ends to compensate for expansionand contraction; also that the de tails of construction ay be' variedas de sired, within the scope of thei appended claims, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. l

Having thustfully described my inveniQ I a m: 11 A rail joint comprising a rail member having a"thickened"web projecting beyond "its head and cut away to provide [spaced plates forming a groove, said groove being of'less depth than the body of the web and forming a base of increased thickness,'the

"outenen'ds of thepl ates beingbeveled and said base having a ortion extending beyond said plates inthe o'rm'of" 'a ledge provided with a 'terniinalbeveled surface, a second "rail"member'jhaviifg'a head projecting upon its base and a thickened web projecting beiyond the base and'centinuing in the form of a tongue of a length to fit within the aforesaid groove, the outer end of the body of thethickened'portion of the web being projected'b'eyond themes of the rail member and coiiperating therewith to form inclined abutmentsurface's engaging the edges of the plates and ledge of the base of the first named rail member, thebase of the tongue and bottom wall of the groove being pro vided with interengaging surfaces, and transverse bolts connecting the plates and tongue to hold the rail ends against relative vertical displacement.

2, A rail joint comprising a rail member having a thickened web projecting beyond its head and cut away to provide spaced plates forming a groove, said groove being of less depth than the body of the web and forming a base of increased thickness, the outer ends of the plates being beveled and said base having a portion extending beyond said plates in the form of a ledge provided with a terminal beveled surface, the

body of the thickened portion of the web transverse lugs to engage said transverse rebeing projected beyond the base of the rail cesses, and transverse bolts connecting the member and cooperating therewith to form plates and tongue to hold the rail ends 10 inclined abutment surfaces .engaging the against relative vertical displacement.

edges of the plates and ledge of the base of In testimony whereof I aflix my signature. the first named rail member, said tongue being provided on its under side with tapered PEPPINO MAJ ORANA.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addreseing the "Commissioner oi Pimento, Washington, D. G." 

